


Remember

by mdnds



Category: VIXX
Genre: Childhood Friends, Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Train Ride, Trust Issues, hurt hongbin, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23238715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mdnds/pseuds/mdnds
Summary: Hongbin hopped on that train hoping to find his way, but ended up meeting a long lost friend and that encounter brought back their past.It opened wounds, but all they need to heal is each other.
Relationships: Cha Hakyeon | N/Lee Hongbin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16
Collections: Intoxicating 1.5 - Bingo





	Remember

He decided he should try something he haven't never done before. Something unusual and that never crossed his mind and the opportunity to take that train came with his vacation. Almost two weeks free and he decided to get the longest train ride he could afford taking time to himself and rethinking his life. Maybe he was having that mid-20s crisis people always talk about…

Hongbin needed that time to find himself, to find his way and so taking a long railway train trip would surely make him think and reassess what he was doing with his life. Still he made sure to always have his camera in hand to register all the beautiful world passing by his window.

He liked to stay on his cabin most of the time, no one to actually bother him - he was lucky no one had got the other bed up till that point. But sometimes he went to the common area to sit and feel other people around, even when there were just a few he’d find some comfort in knowing he wasn’t alone in this world. 

He took the book he was reading with him and was enjoying some green tea glancing through the glass once in a while to take in the landscape changing. He was focused on the story when a melodic voice disturbed his peace. 

“Is the seat free? Would you mind if I take it?” First thing Hongbin looked around to see if there was any other place available since that was no reason for someone to seat with a stranger if he could take his own. And surely all seats had at least one person occupying them. 

“Mm, yeah, sure.” He answered without taking as much as a quick side glance at the guy taking in his simple and neat clothes and going back to his reading.  
Hongbin soon was focused on the novel and lost track of time when once more that same voice brought him back to reality.

“Excuse me, but do I know you? Have we met before?” The questions took Hongbin by surprise, it’s not like he had a common face so he looked up to give the person his full attention hoping it wasn’t just plain boring flirting. That would suck. 

When his eyes met the guy’s he froze. His heartbeat went skyrocket in seconds and he felt a turmoil of emotions inside: longing, anger, betrayal, melancholy, nostalgia and deep down some happiness… 

He breathed in quietly and tried to push all that down his throat but he wouldn’t let him know how his presence alone affected him. He never bothered about him, Hongbin shouldn’t be bothered either. His nose scrunched up in distaste before he could hold in and puffed a bit frustrated with his lack of control before getting his facial expression back to neutral.

“I guess you should…” Hongbin answers and the guy looks startled at him.

“Sorry, b-but did I do anything to you? What do you mean?”

Hongbin scoffed at him shaking his head. All he wanted was a peaceful self-time and now he was sharing the seat with Hakyeon. 

“No, sorry, I was just being bitter over nothing, hyung, don’t worry.” His lips pressed in a thin line frustrated at himself for letting the treatment pronoun slide. A silence extended for a while when he heard a gasp.

“Binnie? Oh, my… It’s you!” Hakyeon sounded so happy and shaken that Hongbin made the mistake to look at him just see his eyes filled and hands trembling slightly covering his mouth.

“Yeah, I guess.” Hongbin sounded less than pleased and that made Hakyeon stop and swallow his emotions in order to keep it rational. 

“I’m sorry, I’m probably making you uncomfortable right? We haven’t seen each other since we were kids and I’m here having an emotional breakdown. Sorry. It’s just… I’m just happy to see you.” He smiled sincerely, but that just made Hongbin angry, so he stayed in silence. “So, how have you been? Are your parents well?”

That made Hongbin’s heart squeeze painfully inside his chest with all the memories of how his life was a sequel of things going to hell after Hakyeon left.

“They got divorced.”

“Ow, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Hakyeon seemed truly embarrassed. “What about you? You must have graduated by now, right? Did you follow your dream to be a veterinarian? You always had a way with animals…”

“I’m allergic to cats, I can’t take care of them.” Hongbin was feeling a bitter taste with each wrong strike made by Hakyeon, like someone was trying to rub pepper on a wound.

“A-ah, right. You found out about it when you’re eight. But we were hopeful one day you’ll find a cure for it, or at least some medicine to keep it under control. I guess it wasn’t the case.”

After that he let the silence stretch once more, not knowing how to break the wall Hongbin had up. The air feeling stuff and almost unbearable for the younger.

“I really missed you, you know?”

“Yeah, right.” Hongbin voiced it aloud without realizing and almost punched himself for it when Hakyeon made a confused noise.

“Bin, what do you mean? It’s true.”

“It’s easy to say that after all this time. But whatever, it’s not like we’re kids anymore and you probably just moved on with life, why would you care for a ten year old with all the new stuff going on with you?”

The bitterness was clear in each said word and that pricked at Hakyeon's heart a bit, but he didn’t comment on it seeing that Hongbin was the one who hurt the most.

“Hongbin, it was not like that…” He tried with a soothing voice but the younger dismissed.

“It’s okay, Hakyeon, it was just kid's drama. It’s all in the past now.” Hongbin said but even to himself it sounded fake. Hakyeon being there shook him in a way he didn’t thought would be possible and now he was having trouble putting himself together.  
Hongbin took a few deep breaths but decided it was useless to let it bottle inside now that he could say it all to Hakyeon's face. And so he did it without thinking much.

“You were one of the most important people to me back then, you know? I trusted you and you were the only safe place I had to run to when things were tough. I didn’t have any other friends and the only other kids I talked to was because you were there too making it all easier. The few kids who talked to me in school only did so because you encouraged them to and they liked you so they tried to be nice to me too.  
And to be honest I was never upset because you left, it wasn’t something you had a say on. You were only a kid too, but you never called, or wrote… You didn’t sent your address like you promised, you just... Vanished. It was so hard for me without you.”

Hakyeon wanted to interrupt and say something, but Hongbin was on a roll, so much he didn’t care for his throat burning with emotions.

“It was so hard for me to talk to people but you made it so effortlessly. You came to me and became a huge part of my life, helping me so much to get out of my shell and making me feel confident about the many things I was self-conscious. You became more than a great friend, you were like a brother at first. And then you it was like I never existed in your life.” 

He was breathing hard when he felt a hand on his shoulder trying to ease him. “I never believed anyone after that. I never trusted people’s word because they were cheap, they felt empty. I couldn’t really get closer to anyone because I knew they’d leave too.”

Hakyeon let him calm a bit, while trying to fight the tears before speaking.

“I did wrote, Binnie. I wrote every month. I sent the letters to Jihoonie’s mail box since your house didn’t have postal code, remember? Your parents used the one from the store that was on the ground floor. So I asked him to give it to you for me.”

At that Hongbin shot his wide eyes up fast and surprised.

“And I didn’t call because we lost our contacts notebook. So I sent you our new number on the first letter.” Hongbin was baffled with that. So Hakyeon didn’t forget about him? 

“After a few months without an answer from you I asked my parents if we could visit but they were very busy and later, during school break I went there once, but you were at your grandmother’s.”

Hongbin remembered that time. His parents were in one of the many marriage crises they had over the years mostly because of work. They both were rarely home, too dedicated to their careers to work properly on their issues as a couple, so his grandmother took him for a couple of months until things were sorted out. Had he know Hakyeon was coming, he’d have stayed.

“What a jerk… So he kept the letters or threw them out, is that it? I always knew he was jealous, because you were closer to me than you were with him.” He laughed dryly not believing that everything he always believed had a completely different story behind it.

“He was just a kid, so…” Hakyeon smiled sad but more light than Hongbin.

“He was still a jerk, though.” Hongbin answered back.

Once more they stayed in silence letting everything sink in. Hongbin had so much to think about. Now that he knew Hakyeon actually cared for him just as much as he did for the older a weight left his heart. He felt light, relieved and mostly happy. But he was also so confused!

“You know, despite our three years gap I always trusted and felt comfortable around you. Like I could be myself without being judged.”

“I did judged you a bit…” Hongbin side smile made Hakyeon’s grow a little.

“Also you were a pretty mature kid for your age, so I felt like I could tell you things. That's why even when you didn’t answer my letters I kept writing them, but didn’t send any. It was just a way for me not to miss you too much. Later, I started writing in journals but I kept them with me and sometimes I read to reminisce and to remember about you.”  
Hakyeon took his bag and unzipped the back pocket taking a bunch with letters and showing them to Hongbin.

“You can read them. There's a lot you have to know about what happened back then.” Hakyeon laughed through his nose with the other’s hanging mouth.

“I-I don’t know what to say. Can I, really?” Hakyeon shrugged in response.

“They were supposed to be for you, anyways…”

Hongbin lunged himself on the elder’s direction hugging him tight and finally crying. Hakyeon’s arms embraced him and they stayed there for some time.

“Don’t cry, please.” Hakyeon asked trying to keep his composure, being an emotional guy himself.

“These are happy tears, don’t worry, hyung.” Hongbin let out a wet laugh, but let go drying his face and smiling that pretty dimpled smile Hakyeon remembered and loved dearly. 

He reached out helping his friend dry his tears and saw the younger’s cheeks tinting slightly.

“You’re still a shy bunny, aren’t’ you?” He teased and Hongbin slapped his hand away weakly.

“Don’t call me that, I’m not a kid anymore.” He said holding a pout and rolling his eyes getting a full laugh from Hakyeon that was like music to his ears.

“It’s good that this ride is long, because we have a lot to catch up on… So I hope you don’t get tired of me too soon because I have tons of those at home for you to read.”  
Hongbin shook his head smiling and looking full of longing and affection to the letters he was finally holding.

“Never.”

Hakyeon gave him the brightest of smiles and Hongbin with a shaken breath and a relieved smile on his own embraced the older once again.

“I missed you, hyung.”

“I know, I missed you too. But we won’t no more.”


End file.
